I'll Come To Your Rescue And You Can Rescue Me
by Sweedledome
Summary: Beca likes the bar she and her friends regularly hang out in. Nice atmosphere, cheap drinks...oh, and there's that red headed waitress. Yeah. That might have something to do with it. AU Bechloe.
1. The Englishman

_**Starting another story with one already in progress. This can only end well…**_

_**Title is take from an American Hi-Fi song called 'The Rescue' though, apart from that one line, it doesn't have much to do with this fic.**_

* * *

The Englishman

A low murmur of joyous conversation surrounds her. The occasional raucous bout of laughter comes from different groups of people near their own table, an enjoyable mood permeates the air and Beca is content to sit back and listen to Amy tell the story of her most recent crazy adventure which included no less than two stolen motorbikes, five swans and a brief encounter with an officer who she now apparently has the number of. It's been a long week and Beca is happy to finally get the chance to properly chill out with a table full of friends and a pleasant alcoholic beverage in her favourite establishment.

They like The Englishman…a pub so named for the one that ran it. Luke had got the art of a decently run bar just right. Whatever night they decided to frequent the bar (and frequent they do), the atmosphere is always brilliant and the drinks flow cheaply. It smells a bit odd, there's always a scramble to get one of the few chairs that aren't seconds away from collapsing and it can sometimes have some less than favourable patrons owing to its dodgy location but they all have a definite fondness for the place which means not one member of the group ever suggests going anywhere else. Plus there's the fact that Luke now regularly cordons off their designated table knowing that they're always likely to make an appearance. Suddenly there's a lull in Amy's enthusiastic tones as a red haired waitress approaches the table.

"Alright guys, who ordered the chips?" Chloe smiles that brilliant smile at them all.

"Over here Chloe." Jesse raises his hand.

"There you go….and who wanted the nachos?"

"Oh, we're splitting them." Cynthia Rose motions between herself and Benji.

"Okay, do you need me to go get some extra napkins?"

"Don't worry about it. Thanks though." Benji says, already eyeing the nachos wantingly.

"No problem hun, you all have a good night now." Chloe waves as she leaves.

"Thanks Chloe!" The entire table choruses as is their custom. Chloe's been working at Luke's for a few months now and has quickly established herself as the bar's most popular waitress. Her friendly attitude and winning smile brought her a lot of attention from members of the place. Sometimes not always particularly nice attention Beca notes, as Chloe has her ass slapped by a leering idiot in a football jersey on her way back to the bar. Beca sees Chloe swallow her anger and continue on her way.

It's astonishing to Beca that the waitress is willing to put up with so much but she knows there's not a lot Luke can do about it when around 95% of his customers like to hit on Chloe. He can't throw them all out…so poor Chloe is regularly subjected to their advances. Some are more forward than others…such as Mr Ass Grab who's now guffawing with his buddies, they're simply looking for a bit of amusement while they drink. There's some that try cheesy pick-up lines, buying her drinks or charm in the hopes of a proper date. Some just cut right to the chase and outright proposition her for a night between the sheets.

Beca can't really blame them for trying to get Chloe's interest. When they'd been handing out the sex appeal Chloe had clearly been standing front of the line with a bucket at the ready, but it irks her how disrespectful people are in their approach. Especially because the woman is so damn _nice _to everyone. Beca firmly believes deserves better than rudeness she receives.

More than once Jesse's urged her to approach the red head herself but Beca figures Chloe's probably fed up of the constant attention and she likes that the waitress sometimes hangs about their table for a bit and chats with them…more than likely due to the lack of getting hit on from anyone on the table. Beca enjoys the banter that occurs and she doesn't want to scare Chloe off so she keeps her little crush to herself and doesn't make a move.

Realising the level of drinks at the table has gone down, Beca heads up to the bar to get another round where, predictably, Chloe is declining the offer of yet another hopeful soul. Beca tries not to appear too happy at the smile Chloe gives her when she sees Beca leaning at the bar.

"But-"

"I'm sorry Rob but I've got to serve this customer." Beca tries not to smirk as the dejected boy slinks off. "Phew, if it isn't one of my favourite table 17 dwellers. Perfect timing there, thought I was going to have to make up some lame excuse about being needed in the kitchen." Chloe laments.

Beca tries not to over think her use of the word 'favourite' and mumbles "glad to be of service."

There's a smile from Chloe at Beca's shy demeanour before she asks "another round of the usuals?"

"You know it." Beca happily watches Chloe buzz about behind the bar, efficiently putting all their drinks together until there's a nice pile ready to go.

"Do you want me to put it on your tab Beca?"

"Oh…uh…yeah cheers."

"Something wrong?" asks Chloe, having caught Beca's surprised look.

"Didn't realise you knew my name is all." Chloe snorts at that.

"Please, Luke had me memorise all your names by the end of my first shift. Apparently the last time you took a dislike to one of his waitresses his profits plummeted because you guys stopped coming."

"Okay, that was strictly for my own safety. I'm reasonably certain Kimmy Jin tried to poison me at least twice." Chloe laughs at that and Beca wonders if she realises that Beca is in no way joking. She doesn't clarify though because Chloe's laugh is pretty captivating and Beca doesn't want it to stop.

"You're funny. Here, I'll help you carry these back over." Beca feels a sense of elation as she realises that this is her and Chloe's first one on one conversation and the gorgeous red head appears to not be running for the hills. It's always nice when they don't run for the hills.

* * *

"Ees like…ees like _emotion._ Emotion in the form of _muuuusic._" Jesse slurs while Beca chuckles at how worked up he's getting about the soundtrack for Star Wars. Beca elected to stop drinking a little while ago to take care of Jesse who had moved from 'pleasantly merry' to 'why is everything spinning' very quickly. Never could hold his liquor.

Beca smirks at her childhood friend who is now attempting to imitate the sound of an entire orchestra so Beca can understand what she's missing out on. He's joined by Beni who's still relatively sober but who never passes up on the opportunity to get involved in anything Star Wars related. Their loud singing emphasises to Beca just how quiet the pub appears to have gotten. As if on cue, Luke appears at the bar to yell to the few remaining people slumped across their tables.

"Sorry guys but it's closing time. Everybody out!" A couple of feeble 'boos' come from the tables but it's not long before everyone is shuffling out the door.

"Alright, let's go home." Beca's attention is caught by Jesse who is violently shaking her arm.

"BecsBecsBecsBecsBecs-"

"Oh for the love of, what?!"

"Benji and I really wanna do a Star Wars marathon now so can I pleasepleaseplease go back to his and watch Star Wars?" Jesse manages to get out in a single breath. At this point in his life, Jesse really shouldn't have to ask anyone to go round a friend's house but Beca had always watched out for him ever since they were little. The walk back from the pub didn't exactly go through a nice neighbourhood and Jesse has an uncanny ability to end up in some sort of scrape or another when drunk so generally he runs ideas past Beca in these situations.

"I don't know Jesse…you good to take care of him Benji?" Beca asks Benji who is already nodding his head enthusiastically.

"Beca pleeeeeeeease?" Jesse pleads with his puppy dog eyes. Beca's always thought anyone pulling that look ought to be shot for a lack of self-respect but her and Jesse haven't had much of an opportunity to cut loose recently so she gives him a stern look as she consents.

"Alright then, but I want a text to know you made it to Benji's safe."

"Yay!" Jesse happily lifts Beca up in his enthusiasm, forgetting her strict personal bubble.

"Ugh, down Jesse, down!"

"Sorry." Jesse says sheepishly at a glaring Beca.

"Off you go then."

"You'll be okay?"

"I know how to take care of myself Jesse. I'll be fine." Beca replies confidently. It's the truth. It had become necessity when she and Jesse first ran away from their small town together. Her dreams of being discovered as the next new thing in music and a rapid rise to fame had not worked out as originally intended.

What followed were several years of living hand to mouth in some really quite rough areas during which Beca had picked up an astonishing amount of street smarts. Jesse, bless him, had not. By his very nature he inherently trusted people to be truthful with him which meant that, more than once, Beca had had to help him out of a dangerous situation when someone discovered this particular attribute and took advantage.

Exiting the pub, Beca hopes she hadn't made a mistake watching the two saunter off in a different direction. Wrapping her hoody more firmly around herself to combat the harsh bite in the air that signals the approach of an oncoming winter, Beca begins to make her way home.

"Jerry! Stop!" Beca's head snaps up at the sound of a familiar voice in distress. Her feet are carrying her around to the alley behind the pub before she can really register what's going on. There she sees a visibly upset Chloe pushing back Jerry, an unpleasant but harmless regular. Or so Beca thought, because Jerry's already stumbling his way towards Chloe again.

The man can barely stand as Beca marches over and grips him in an arm lock and swivels him around so she stands between Chloe and the drunken man. Jerry looks confused by the sudden change in scenery but it doesn't take long for him to work out there's someone new here.

"Eyyyyyy! Ees Beca!" Beca can smell the putrid scent of too much alcohol reeking from him with every word.

"Go home Jerry." Her voice is firm, her eyes unforgiving as she looks on the man currently trying to maintain his balance.

"Aww, c'mon Beca! Me and Red are having a good time here. Wanna join us?" Jerry does some bizarre sort of eye twitch that might have been a wink.

"Go home before I make you go home." She speaks slowly and enunciates every word clearly, hoping she'll get through to the part of Jerry's brain that still has some sense of logic. Something about Beca's attitude screams 'danger' and a small warning signal flares up in Jerry's heavily intoxicated brain spotting that he could be in trouble here and encourages him to run.

"Fine, didn't wanna have sex with you anyway." Jerry mumbles petulantly as he staggers off. Beca watches him carefully to make sure he's actually left before turning to check on the woman stood behind her.

"Hey, are you okay?" Beca asks in a soft tone that seems oddly compassionate given how vicious that voice was just a few moments ago. There's a sudden movement and Beca's brain takes a few seconds to catch up to the fact that she now has an armful of red head and dear lord she smells better than someone who's completed a 12 hour shift in a pub has any right to.

"Thankyouthankthankyou_thankyou._" Chloe repeats, still clinging to Beca who normally has a strict no hug policy but Chloe is obviously in need of some comfort and…well, she supposes the hug doesn't feel _atrocious._ "I know Luke always tells to go out the main entrance after we leave but I just wanted to get to my car as quickly as possible and…ugh, I'm so stupid."

Beca retracts her arms from around Chloe, moving them to grip her shoulders lightly so she can examine the red head's face as she asks her next question. "Chloe, I know you're upset right now but I need to know if he touched you or assaulted you in any way."

"I…no, not really. He grabbed me and tried to kiss me once but I threw him off and you appeared before he could try again." Chloe's face is still clearly twisted with unhappiness but Beca can't see any signs of Chloe hiding the truth so she drops her arms, shoves her hands in her pockets and nods towards the parking lot.

"Okay...come on, you should probably get home. I'll walk you to your car."

"Thank you." Chloe says softly, looping her arms through Beca's. Beca's standard protest dies in her throat for some reason. They walk in silence. Out of the corner of her eye, Beca can see Chloe open her mouth to speak once or twice but she never actually says anything until they reach her car and Beca's turned to leave having said 'goodbye'.

"Wait! How are you getting home?" Chloe calls to her fading figure.

"Walking." Beca shrugs.

"You can't seriously expect me to let you walk back alone after what just happened."

"I do it most nights."

"You mean you always walk back at closing?" Disbelief colours Chloe's voice.

"Well…normally I have Jesse with me but he went to Benji's for bro time or whatever tonight." Beca can see Chloe's face take on an authoritative look.

"Beca. Get in the car."

"No, it's fine. I wouldn't want to inconvenience you." Beca mumbles, accepting help has never been her strong suit.

"Beca, I wasn't asking. Get in the car or I'll follow you home in the car to make sure you're okay." Beca blinks at the certainty with which Chloe speaks. Chloe has already opened the passenger side door for her when she motions insistently for Beca to move…and Beca does.

She seats herself in the clunky looking vehicle that looks about five seconds away from falling to pieces and tries not squeak when Chloe suddenly leans across her to forcibly buckle her in. "Safety first." Chloe winks at a clearly shocked Beca.


	2. Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Beca is pleased when she enters the establishment a couple of nights later and spots a picture of Jerry hung in Luke's 'no longer welcome' display case. Her pleasure turns to surprise when she heads to the bar to pay off her tab for the month and Luke says it's been cleared.

"What? By who?"

"By me idiot, for what you did for Chloe the other night." Luke nods approvingly at her. Beca doesn't feels it's deserved.

"Oh come on, anyone else would have done the same."

"Don't care. It's my responsibility to make sure my staff are safe. When they're in here I can be reasonably certain it'll be okay because everyone knows I've got a couple of baseball bats lying around ready for them to use if necessary and I'm here to keep an eye on things but it's difficult once they step outside those doors. They shouldn't have to be worrying for their safety when they leave this place. I'm just glad you were there."

"But-"

"Your tab is cleared and that's the last I want to hear of it." Luke gives her a look that Beca remembers as one of no argument. She gives in and goes to plop herself down at their regular table to wait for Jesse to arrive. Despite repeated naggings, Jesse's punctuality still leaves a lot to be desired so Beca resigns herself to an undetermined period of waiting for him to turn up. She's brought out of her inner grumblings by a tasty looking grilled cheese being set on the table in front of her.

"Hi Beca!" And there's Chloe, smiling down at her like Beca's something worth smiling at.

"Hey Chloe…um….I didn't order this." Beca motions to the plate in front of her, the smell from it already making her mouth water.

"Yeah, I made it for you. I know they're your favourite."

"How do you know that?"

"You haven't ordered anything else since they came on the menu." Chloe really needs to stop giving her that smile.

"Oh….thanks, but I can't accept this."

"Yes you can."

"Luke's already cleared my tab and it's not like I did anything spe-"

"Beca. Eat the damn sandwich." Chloe insists, pushing the plate closer to her. Beca can only resist the smell of freshly toasted bread for so long.

"Okay okay, man you're bossy." Beca smirks as she reaches for the food. Chloe lets out a pleased little noise and takes the seat on the opposite side of the table to Beca.

"Do you mind me sitting with you for a bit? Things are pretty slow at the moment, I saw you were alone so I thought come over and kickstart our friendship."

"Our friendship?" Beca blinks.

"Mhmmm. We're going to be fast friends."

"Do I have any choice in this?"

"Not at all. You do, however, get free grilled cheese sandwiches from time to time."

"I can live with that." Beca moans as she takes her first bite. They're _that_ good. Chloe starts talking while Beca works her way through it, listening raptly to everything Chloe's saying. With a mouthful of gooey cheese demanding her attention, Beca doesn't contribute much to the conversation other than facial expressions and the occasional grunt but Chloe seems to not mind. She carries on about a marathon she's training for (because _of course _Chloe is the type of girl to run marathons for charity) and it's the sort of mundane conversation that Beca can usually be doing without. Chloe speaks with such passion though, Beca can see a spark in her eye which seems to animate her entire face into whirlwind of emotion that has Beca captivated. At least until they're joined by a newcomer at the table.

"Looking good tonight Chloe." There's an appreciative whistle from a blonde woman with such and odd assortment of make up on her face that Beca has to wonder if she didn't just forgo the traditional brands and scribble on her face with Crayola. "So how comes Stumpy here gets personal table visits and I can't even buy you a drink?" Beca bristles a bit at that. She knows she's short but…Stumpy? Really?

"Beca's my friend Lauren and you're being quite rude." Chloe admonishes with a frown.

"Tell you what, I'll apologise if you come sit at my table." Lauren says with a grin that contains far too much teeth.

"There aren't any seats left." Chloe looks relieved as she says this.

"I've got a seat right here for you baby." Lauren pats her legs. There's no preventing the eye roll that Beca feels coming over her.

"No Lauren. I'd like to stay here." Chloe says, sounding strong with her words, but it seems to have no effect on Miss 'Can't Take A Hint' in the stupidly short skirt.

"And I'd like to take you home tonight." Beca can't stop the snort of laughter that escapes her. Do these people honestly think those sort of lines are going to work? Lauren's clocked her amusement and is now giving her a dismissive eyebrow that Beca supposes is meant to make her feel small. To hell with that. She meets the gaze head on until signs of uncomfortableness appear in Lauren's eyes.

Once she feels Lauren is uncertain enough, Beca keeps her voice steady and quiet as she speaks to the blonde. "I think you should head back to your table now."

"Oh do you?" There's a hint of rebellion resurfacing in Lauren's eyes but Beca silences her with her next words.

"Yes. Staying here will not end well for you." Beca's eyes are relentless, boring into Lauren's own with laser like focus. A few seconds later, an ugly expression appears on Lauren's face before she turns on her heel and stomps back to where her friends are now jeering at her. Chloe's eyes are flicking between Beca and the retreating blonde with undisguised awe.

"How do you do that?" Chloe asks Beca incredulously.

"Whu?" Beca stickily replies, having picked an unfortunate moment to fill her mouth with the delicious cheese that takes a while to gum through.

"Get people to listen to you. Really listen."

"I dunno." Beca shrugs as she swallows her last bite and looks at her plate already mournfully examining the crumby remnants of a sandwich she finished too quickly.

"You have this sort of…look that you give people. It's so…_intense._ I've seen Lauren attack an entire men's rugby team because she thought one of them was hitting on her but one look from you and she just leaves? It's amazing."

"It's nothing really. Most people will back down if you hold your ground and act like you have the upper hand. Can back fire though, if someone thinks they can take you, you've either got to fight or be real good at running." Beca is uncomfortable with the look Chloe is giving her as she speaks. It makes her feel abnormally vulnerable.

"Well thank you…again. You're beginning to make a habit of this aren't you?"

"I'm sorry if it bothers you, I…it bugs me the way people talk to you. They shouldn't be allowed to say stuff like that to you."

"You're sweet to say so." Chloe coos. Beca frowns at that.

"I'm not sweet, I don't do sweet."

"Uh huh, I'll leave you to not be sweet while I go fix you another." Chloe stands, taking Beca's empty plate.

"Oh no, it's fine, I'm not-"

"Don't think I didn't see your cute little pout when you finished."

"I don't do cute either…and I definitely don't pout!" Beca calls after Chloe but the only response is a chuckle as the red head disappears through the door to the kitchen. Another body promptly squishes itself into the space vacated only seconds ago. Beca tenses before she realises it's only Jesse finally having decided to pitch up.

"How comes you haven't killed her yet?" Jesse asks curiously.

"What are you on about?"

"Last time I even vaguely suggested you were cute, I got a book thrown at my face."

"That was for dramatic effect, it's not like it was going to hurt you."

"It was a hard backed 500 page dictionary."

"You've got a thick skull, I knew you'd be fine." And like that, they fall into their standard mode of banter which dissolves into catching up on each other's days. Turns out Jesse got the number of the coffee shop nazi who likes to torment Beca for her inappropriate use of the chairs as footstools on occasion. Beca is not pleased with his choice of pursuit but he hasn't looked this excited about a prospect in a while so she swallows her desire to express her dislike of the woman and congratulates him.

When Chloe returns with Beca's sandwich, she seems slightly off and declines Jesse's invite to join them citing work as an excuse. Beca is put out by this because the place is still clearly quiet which makes her think she's done something to annoy Chloe. She gets a smile and a wave when Chloe spots them leaving for home later though so Beca decides she must have been being paranoid. As they exit the bar, Beca gains no small amount of satisfaction in shoving Jesse into the door frame when he starts teasing her about the wave.

* * *

"I'm sorry Chloe."

"That's okay Kyle, thank you for understanding." Chloe's words are kind but her manner is cold to let Kyle know it's a dismissal. She sighs in relief as he goes but Beca doesn't stop glaring until Kyle is back in his seat. He'd been one of Chloe's more persistent enquirers. Chloe was in the middle of complaining to Beca about how he'd been asking for her number for a week now and she was sick of having to try and explain that she wasn't playing hard to get.

Kyle had made an appearance at entirely the wrong time and, instead of being greeted with a pretty red head he was convinced secretly wanted him, he instead got an incensed 5' 2" brunette with no qualms about chewing him out for his behaviour. Beca then proceeded to, in no uncertain terms, outline the concept of 'no means no' to him until he felt an apology was necessary.

Beca turns back around to be greeted with the now familiar site of Chloe looking at her. She leans on the bar and picks her pint back up as Chloe starts cleaning glasses without desisting from her Beca watching hobby.

"What? Have I got something on my face?" Beca runs a hand around her mouth, double checking for sauce residue or something similar that could be causing Chloe's amusement.

"It's nothing." Beca narrows her eyes suspiciously but Chloe gives her a perfectly innocent look that Beca just knows means Chloe isn't going to answer properly. Instead she changes the subject. "I was going to ask you a favour actually…"

"What?" Beca is frank. She is more than used to people requiring something of her.

"If you'd be willing to keep doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"Standing up for me. I'm already getting less attention and it makes my job so much easier."

"Yeah, sure. I didn't want to interfere because I thought you might think I thought you couldn't stand up for yourself or you might actually like someone and I'd be ruining things for you and-"

"Beca!" Beca is cut off by Chloe. "Calm down. Anyway, it doesn't have to be all the time, just if I can't get rid of someone. Particularly if you're here around closing when people can get a bit too drunk?" Beca nods. Not exactly how she wanted Chloe to want her around but it's something. "Plus I get to hang out with you more which makes me happy. It's wonderful having someone look out for me." Chloe leans across the bar and her free hand slides over Beca's.

…oh. That's nice.

There's a moment where their eyes make contact and Beca's heart just sort of thumps a little heavier but Chloe clears her throat before long and removes her hand quickly. Beca calls it a night not long after that.

* * *

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	3. Miscommunication

_**I'm curious. Can anybody work out which song put the idea for the basic premise of this fic in my head? And no, it's not the one at the end of the chapter.**_

* * *

Miscommunication

Three weeks of carefully navigating the dangerous waters that is social interaction with someone new later and Beca is procrastinating. She is skilfully dodging the accounts she's meant to be doing by pretending she's working them out over a nice late lunch at The Englishman. In reality, she's paying far more attention to her meal than the accounts she knows she has to do. Her laptop is sitting open in front of her on the table, the numbers screaming at her for organisation…but she feels the process of cutting up her steak is more important. She's also busy wondering if she's done something wrong.

Chloe seems to be avoiding her table which is an anomaly in the newly established scheme of things. It's not unlike the red head to go as far as switching sections with another waitress so she can make an appearance but Chloe's adamantly not coming over. Beca received a wave upon entry but that's been it…and the wave wasn't exactly enthusiastic to begin with. Just as she begins to contemplate speaking to Chloe, the subject of her thoughts appears.

"Hi." It comes out quietly which concerns Beca because, in the short time she's known Chloe, she's come to realise that Chloe doesn't really understand the notion of quiet. She also begins to fiddle with her hands. It's an incredibly peculiar image. It occurs to Beca that, for the first time ever, she's seeing Chloe nervous. "I need to tell you something."

"Did I do something wrong?" Beca blurts out, unable to handle this sudden shift in their dynamic which has her worried for what she thought was turning out to be a good friendship.

"What? No. Of course not. You're…but that doesn't matter. You need to know this."

"Okay…" Beca says, curious now as to what it is that has Chloe worked up.

"So, I've got this roommate, well, best friend really but we live together. She's been telling me recently about this guy who's been flirting with her a lot recently and she's been on a few dates with him now."

"And I need to know about your roommate's love life because…?"

"I only found out last night and she had no idea who he was until I told her and…you have to understand Beca, we didn't know." Chloe is panicked now. She seems desperate for Beca to acknowledge this but Beca's beyond confused at this point.

"Chloe, what on earth are you talking about?"

"It's Jesse."

"Huh?"

"Jesse. He's the one who's been taking her on dates and stuff." Beca's eye light up in recognition. A small amount of recognition and not really the one she suspects she was supposed to get but it's something to help her start piecing together Chloe's odd train of though.

"So your bestie is scary coffee shop lady?" Beca says slowly, checking to make sure she's at least got that part right.

"Yes, she works in a coffee shop…wait, did you _know _about this?"

"Obviously, Jesse's had a thing for her for ages." Beca snorts at the memory of Jesse's over embellished speeches about the light hitting her eyes.

"Why aren't you mad?"

"Why should I be? Jesse's a big boy, he can make his own decisions." Chloe's face appears distraught by Beca's lack of response to what she's telling her.

"How are you being so…so cavalier about this? Is this a weird, sick game you're playing together? If you have some sort of open relationship, fine, but don't let other people get sucked in without them knowing! It's wrong!" And then the penny drops. Beca understands why Chloe's acting like it's a big deal. Beca begins laughing uncontrollably which does not ease the outrage on Chloe's face. Beca manages to reign it in to a light chuckle to clarify.

"Chloe, do you honestly think Jesse and I are together?" Chloe's fearsome angry face freezes, then relaxes in disbelief.

"You…you're not?"

"Hell no." Beca laughs again and shakes her head at the thought.

"But…you're so close. Before that night you helped me, I never saw the two of you apart."

"Yeah, we're about as close as it's possible to get. He's my brother, not biologically or legally or whatever but…yeah, my brother. We grew up together, went through parental issues together, ran away together, live together and co-own a shop together…but we have not nor will we ever _be _together."

"Oh…all this time I thought that…" And Beca's amused but also slightly puzzled because Chloe's voice makes the 'oh' seem very profound and meaningful, like she's come to some great realisation. Surely it's just a case of mistaken information now resolved? There's no need for Chloe to look so happy about it, seriously, the woman is grinning something chronic.

Until suddenly she's not and there's an expression of worry with a hint of embarrassment on her face. "I should probably go tell Aubrey pretty sharpish. I believe there was some mention of castrating Jesse when I told her." Chloe says, glancing at the table sheepishly. Beca winces in return with sympathy for her friend.

"Ouch, I would not want to be him right now."

"No, probably not. Aubrey doesn't take threats lightly. I think I should go phone her now, she was pretty upset when I told her." Chloe muses before worrying at her lip with her teeth. Beca really wishes she wouldn't do that. It's very distracting.

"As much as I like to pretend otherwise, I am somewhat concerned for his wellbeing so a call to your psychotic bestie might not be a bad idea."

"Hey! She's not psychotic! It's just…well her parents never really took her out of the shrink wrap is all."

"…I don't know what that means." Beca frowns at Chloe, trying for the millionth time to figure out her odd assortment of language. There is something she does know though. The spark of protectiveness in Chloe's eye, the same one she gets when Jesse's in trouble. Chloe cares about the blonde haired rule enforcer and Beca makes a note not to speak badly of her again (too badly at any rate) because she understands the importance of respecting someone's friendship, regardless of how seemingly mismatched the two participants are.

"Bree's a little tightly wound but she's really been easing up recently because of mystery guy….who it turned out is 'not your boyfriend' Jesse."

"I'm not surprised, Jesse's been keeping me overly informed on all his nauseating attempts at romance." Chloe laughs at Beca's disgusted expression and opens her mouth to say something else but is cut off by the sound of Jesse and and Aubrey storming into the pub together, Jesse sporting a suspiciously hand like red mark on his face.

"Chloe Elizabeth Beale!" Beca tries to hide her snigger as the blood drains from Chloe's face. "Why did you tell me Jesse was with Beca if he's not?!" Then Aubrey turns her flaring nostrils on Beca and suddenly she's not sniggering anymore. "Unless he's just lied to me and you _are _together, in which case it would be in your best interests to start running now because you're _really_ not going to like what happens when I catch up with you."

"No, not together, not together at all, please don't hurt me!" Beca pleads, arms held out in front of her. When confronted with muggers, violent drunks, overly touchy enquirers and the suchlike, Beca is fearless in her approach. Not today though. Aubrey is_ scary._

"See? I told you." Comes an upset voice from beside Aubrey and Beca is startled to see Aubrey's face soften somewhat as she turns to look at Jesse.

"Oh Jesse, I'm sorry. When Chloe told me I saw red and…oh god, I _slapped _you, I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."

"Already forgiven. At least now you know I'll never cheat. No way am I facing that wrath again." Jesse shakes his head with a slightly traumatised grimace. Aubrey lightly cups his face a delivers a kiss to his cheek that has him smiling again. Beca kind of wants to gag at the scene in front of her but she supposes there is a tiny part of her that finds the interaction endearing. She hopes this is the start of something good for Jesse. Neither of them have had much luck in their lives and Jesse's more than earned this.

As Chloe smiles at her from across the table, Beca can't help but feel this is the start of something good for her as well…even if it is only a friendship.

* * *

Okay, something is up. Something is definitely up because Chloe is _touching_ Beca. She was touchy feely before but now it's ridiculous. A hand sliding down Beca's arm here, a light touch on her waist there. Anytime Chloe is around Beca she seems to be touching the brunette and it's driving Beca crazy. How is she supposed to get rid of her feelings for the red head if said red head keeps putting images in Beca's head with her constant contact and her words. Oh yeah, there are words too.

Apparently Chloe has decided outrageous flirting is thing too so now Beca is greeted with both barrels of the full Beale charm when she is around Chloe. Were she still in 'crush' mode then Beca might think it meant an interest and try for a date. As it is though, her conversations and time spent with Chloe means she now really likes having the red head as a friend. Which is different.

It's different for someone as socially awkward as her to have made such a connection and Beca didn't fancy jeopardising that over some lousy feelings that she could smush down into that undiscovered part of her soul where she liked to smush things. Besides, she figures this new Chloe is Chloe having become so comfortable with Beca as a friend that Chloe feels she needn't worry about Beca getting the wrong impression. So Beca ensures she doesn't get the wrong impression by repeating the mantra 'Chloe is your FRIEND' in her head.

Well…she tries not to at any rate. At this current moment in time, Chloe is standing at their table, having stuck around for a chat as she usually does whenever she drops off the food. Her hand is still lingering on Beca's back and is now lightly drawing patterns. There's a very interesting debate going on between Benji and Amy about who would win a talent show if he entered with his magic tricks and Amy with her mermaid dancing, but Beca simply cannot participate with Chloe doing that.

She shrugs lightly to dislodge the hand there and Beca spots something akin to hurt on Chloe's face but it's gone before Beca can question it. Beca breathes a sigh of relief as she feels her heart rate return to a normal rhythm but it doesn't stop the tingling in her spine that seems to be present any time she's around Chloe these days. She must be a glutton for punishment. Truly, she must. That's why she leaps up to help Chloe carry the towering pile of dishes back to the bar when Chloe makes a joking comment bemoaning the effort it's going to take her to make two trips for all the crockery.

"Thanks Beca." Chloe smiles while Beca's piling up the plates with her. Beca smiles back at her and ignores Amy when she hears a cough that sounds suspiciously like 'eye sex' coming from the Australian.

"Always here to help." Beca says as they walk to the bar together. She wants Chloe to understand that she means that…which is weird. Beca doesn't have a huge amount of friends but the ones she does have she is unwaveringly loyal to, the phrase 'always here to help' is only offered when she truly means it. To those she feels have earned the right to call on her any and all hours for aid.

It's a privilege that usually comes with having known the brunette for a significant length of time and with Beca's tendency to push people away, a significant length of time is something that's rarely reached. It's why she's surprised to hear the words coming from her mouth after having only really started speaking to Chloe maybe a month ago.

"If only." Chloe is sighing wistfully and Beca's face scrunches in resentment that Chloe doesn't believe her. Maybe she doesn't understand, but it's a big thing that Chloe's casually dismissing.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Then Chloe points out the obvious that Beca wants to smack herself for not realising.

"You can't be here all the time Beca, I'm sure you have to go to work sometime." Of course. Of course she can't follow Chloe around 24/7 like a lost puppy because that's what stopping her from getting hit on all the time would require. Beca considers the idea that she could be there for the emergency situations if she asked Chloe to exchange numbers but…no, that requires more courage than Beca currently possesses.

Beca becomes aware that Chloe's continued. " Like the other day, this girl totes thought if she kept ordering food that she could feel me up when I came over and I know if you were here you could have put a stop to it but…like I said, you can't be here all the time." White hot rage burns through Beca in a way she's not experienced before. The words are leaving her lips before she's even aware of what she's saying.

"You should give me your number."

"Huh? Really?" Chloe's face lights up and Beca's not sure why it falls slightly as she continues.

"Yeah and I'll give you mine, I can't be around all the time but I don't work too far away and it's pretty quiet most of the time. If we swap phone numbers then you can drop me a text if someone's being a real jackass and you can't get rid of them. Like, emergency situations. Assuming my shop's not on fire, then I'll come running."

"Emergency situations, right…you know if you wanted to score my digits then you could have just asked." Chloe winks.

"That's not…I wasn't…" Beca splutters.

"Breathe Beca, I know that's not how you meant it." Chloe looks away as she says this. She almost sounds…bitter. That can't be. Chloe doesn't do bitter. Seconds later, the smile is back in place as Chloe produces her phone. Beca concludes it must have been her imagination.

* * *

_Somehow I can't believe _

_That anything should happen _

_I know where I belong _

_And nothing's gonna happen _

_'Cause she's so high…_

_High above me, she's so lovely_

_(She's So High – Tal Bachman)_

* * *

_**Thank you to the following for reviewing:**_

_**Honeybadger1987**_

_**ItsLazyGurl**_

_**jellymankelly (thank you, I want to get that balance right so Beca doesn't come across as controlling or just beating up anyone she thinks is looking at Chloe funny.)**_

_**itsmefiebs**_

_**Defying-gravy**_

_**xbechloex**_

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_**Guest (It's pretty much how I am when looking at an empty plate :P)**_

_**MakesGoodChoices**_

_**ballpointmf**_

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_**Guest**_

_**awriterofthings (I sacrifice a goat every Tuesday. Then I get given inspiration by the writing gods. Simple really. Thank you for the kind words.)**_

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_**llvr**_

_**CHocolatMoosePi**_


	4. Refuge

_**Look at me being all productive and whatnot with updates. I think it's because my best friend has buggered off to Yorkshire for the weekend to look at houses with her parents (they're moving there. Boo hiss boo.) and I'm left sitting around like '…now what? What do I even do with my time when she's not here to insult?' Apparently write fanfiction. Aaand I just got a snapchat from her calling me a dickface. Charming.**_

_**The song that initially started me on this was actually 'Next Contestant' by Nickelback. Just put an image in my head I couldn't shake.**_

_**Anyway on with the chapter.**_

* * *

4. Refuge

Although she's not complaining, Beca is surprised when the first text she receives from Chloe is not to make use of her 'death glare' as Chloe has termed it. It begins with a

_Hey :) __xxx_

And immediately Beca is on high alert.

_I can be there in 15. Who am I killing?_

She is confused by the response.

_Nobody silly. :P Just wanted to see how your day is going __ xxx_

It astounds Beca that Chloe simply wants to make conversation. Yeah, number swapping happened. Beca hoped it might lead to texts not surrounding Chloe needing help but she didn't think Chloe would initiate non-rescue purposes conversation straight away. The thought brings a smile to her face. So now they text.

It takes a little while for Beca to get used to the way Chloe needs to punctuate every sentence with an emoticon and there's more exclamation marks than anyone ever really needs when Chloe is excited about something, but it's nice. Despite having repeatedly become grouchy with previous girlfriends for their constant texting, Beca now finds herself smiling at the 'good morning! xxx' text present on her phone every morning. It's so _Chloe._

Jesse raises his eyebrow and makes gagging motions with his spoon whenever he sees Beca do the smile but she readily silences him with a well-aimed dictionary if he persists too long. Sometimes she wonders if she abuses him too much as he lays on the floor groaning, but then he starts with smoochy noises instead and sympathy vanishes from Beca's heart.

One day she's minding the shop on a slow afternoon and just as her stomach begins to rumble, Beca remembers neither she nor Jesse have been shopping recently. The only thing currently in their fridge is an opened tin of beans that has been there since of dawn of time and an onion with a noticeable bite mark out of it from the last time Beca came home drunk and hungry. She still doesn't remember that happening but the taste in her mouth the next morning was more than enough to assure her it happened.

She shoots off a quick text to Chloe complaining about the woes of boredom hunger, slips on her headphones and leans back in her chair. It's going to be a long afternoon, Beca can tell, she's developed a sort of sixth sense for these things. At least it's somewhere she's happy though, she likes the book shop she and Jesse run.

It's ramshackle in appearance with books bursting out of every crevice but, despite first impressions, each section is meticulously organised for ease of finding. They sell everything from second-hand Shakespeare to the latest glossy bound crime thriller. Dictionaries too. Beca likes the dictionaries. Jesse is less enamoured.

Whoever built the shop clearly had clearly adopted a policy of 'we'll just stick on a bit here and another one here and let's stick some stairs over here that lead to the third floor but not the second'. It's poorly designed and when they first moved in, Beca got lost more than once in the labyrinth of shelves. She loves it though. She and Jesse _bought _this. With their own money. They _own _it. For people who had spent so long owning nothing, the sense of ownership was, and still is, a very satisfying feeling.

They'd converted the third floor into living space and lived there now. It had been difficult when they first set up. They'd struggled to get interest due to the shop's shabby outward appearance and had had to resort to nights slept under a thin blanket with a cardboard like futon serving as a mattress. Slowly, but surely, business had picked up when people grew fond of the shop's quirky layout and nowadays they were so busy that slow afternoons such as this were an extreme rarity.

Suddenly yanked out of her musings, Beca lets out a most undignified shriek as she feels arms encompass her. Once she's assessed that she's not about die, Beca opens her mouth to question who on earth thinks they can get away with invading her personal space like that but the question dies in her throat because there's only one person in the world with eyes that blue.

"Surprise!" Chloe squeals, slipping the headphones from around Beca's neck. She's touching Beca's headphones. Why doesn't Beca care? Beca manages to muster up a somewhat pathetic glare to aim in Chloe's direction but it fades as Chloe produces a bag that is emitting a most intoxicating smell. "I brought you lunch. I had today off and I figured I'd come keep you company seeing as you're always talking about this place. Plus I think I could hear your stomach grumbling from home." Chloe grins, placing the bag on the table.

"You came to visit me?"

"Duh. You visit me at work all the time. How did you not see this coming?" Chloe teases as she grabs a nearby chair and drags it over to Beca's desk.

"I didn't think you'd want to spend time with me out of the bar…"

"Beca, you really need to get this into you head. We're friends and that means I like spending time with you so I'm going to seize the opportunity whenever I can." Chloe says this like it's a matter of fact while she unpacks several containers from the bag. Beca cannot accurately convey how happy this makes so she settles for something simple.

"Oh…awesome." Chloe looks at her and Beca looks back and there's a moment of looking but whatever is in that moment is lost by the behemoth growl that comes from Beca's midriff.

"Jesus Beca, was that your stomach?" Chloe exclaims wide eyed. Beca herself is startled by the noise her body just made. Evidently she's hungrier than she thought.

"I think you're going to need to feed me Beale." Beca replies, poking worriedly at her stomach. "And I hope you brought a lot."

"I brought a lot but if that noise was any indication, I'm not sure it'll be enough." Chloe says with worried awe. "Anyway, since Aubrey's been eating with Jesse a lot lately, I've got loads of leftovers from meals so you have a nice selection. We have some spaghetti bolognaise, a chicken stirfry, a turkey a la king, tuna pasta bake and vegetable curry."

"Marry me." Beca says, salivating at the abundance of food in front of her and Chloe says 'okay' and Beca says 'okay' and there's _another _moment of looking at each other but then Chloe's thrusting the first tuppaware in front of her and Beca loses herself in the food. The first dish is spaghetti bolognaise and Beca hums in contentment at the delicious flavours blending together in her mouth.

"You like it then?" Chloe questions eagerly.

"Oh yeah, I think I have a special place in my heart for your cooking." Beca finds it hard to take her eyes of the food.

"That's good to know. I'll just keep feeding you until you can't look at anybody else." Chloe giggles at the way Beca has a piece of haphazard spaghetti hanging from her mouth. She gives the sauced up area a rub with her thumb and Beca gulps at the way Chloe is now cradling her face.

"Keep giving me dishes like this and it's a certainty." Beca replies, having moved onto the vegetable curry. She's never let broccoli anywhere near her mouth before but Chloe's one of those magical people that can toss anything into a pan and have it come out the other end tasting like a meal from a five star restaurant. Once they've finished every container, they lay back in their chairs.

Beca can feel her stomach stretching from that sense of fullness that lets you know you've eaten just a little bit too much, but you're sure a few moments not moving at all will sort you out. She's happily thrumming away in her own little world, allowing her body time to digest, when Chloe is the one to break the silence, eyes having been examining the book shop.

"So how did you end up with this place? You're always talking about it but I've never heard the story of how you guys decided a book shop was the place to be." Beca pauses, her hands beginning to fidget with each other as she considers ways to avoid this conversation.

"To be honest, it's a long and not particularly happy story. This is where Jesse and I ended up. That's all you really need to know." Beca glances up as she finishes her sentence and sees Chloe's eyes widening. Oh no. Puppy dog eyes. Beca hates puppy dog eyes. They're so demeaning to the individual giving them. Whenever Jesse attempts them, Beca replies with a stony demeanour and adamantly not giving him whatever he's pleading for.

Chloe's eyes are so wide though. Those eyes seem to contain all the hope in the world, tinged with a tiny bit of moisture to let Beca know just how truly upset Chloe would be if Beca didn't respond. Beca can feel her resolve wavering…NO, she _will not _give into puppy dog eyes. Not now, not ever…Chloe looks so hopeful though. NO Beca, hold it together.

"It started when we were thirteen."

Dammit Beca, this was _not_ the plan.

"Neither of us had great upbringing's. Jesse's mum was more into parenthood for the alimony cheque than anything else. My own parents saw me as a thing that they could play with when they were bored. They conveniently remembered they had a daughter when they wanted to bring me out and parade me to show off what amazing parents they were."

Beca snorted. The memory still stings somewhat and she almost stops but Chloe slides her hand over her own…for whatever reason, forging on doesn't seem as difficult anymore. "When I said I wanted to produce music, you have no idea how hard they laughed. If they'd got angry, forbidden me to do it or something then it wouldn't have been so bad. They just laughed though. They didn't even consider the idea that I was serious. To them I was their daughter. I was there to live out their life plans. My own dreams never even came into consideration. Jesse received a similar treatment."

"That's horrible." Chloe's face is aghast with sadness and Beca can feel the sympathy rolling off of her in waves. Beca normally doesn't do well with it, it's too akin to pity, but it's somewhat soothing to get the feeling that Chloe cares about her wellbeing.

"Eh, we managed. Anyway. Predictably, when were 18 we hit the road and never looked back. We managed pretty well at first, took really good care of our money, only spent enough to get us from one place to the next...but we should have been more careful. Someone broke into our place one day and took everything. Absolutely everything. The only thing I had by the end of the day were my clothes and those headphones." Beca points to the headphones laying on the desk and she hears Chloe let out a little noise of sadness.

"I did wonder why you're so protective of them." She murmurs, running a hand across the battered casing. Beca wants to say that's why she never really lets anyone touch them but she knows that would make Chloe pull back. Beca doesn't like it when Chloe pulls back because you can see the light dim slightly in her eyes as she feels she's done something wrong. It's not a look on Chloe that Beca is fond of.

"So…yeah, things pretty much went to shit after that. Couldn't pay our rent. Got kicked out. We'd made a few friends who let us stay with them for a bit but it didn't take long for us to run out of places to stay."

"You were homeless?"

"For about seven months. We even considered trying to get back to our parents but we knew there was no way they'd take us back even if we got down on our hands and knees and begged." Beca's aware she's listing these events off as unemotionally as she can. She's still not at the point in her life where she can acknowledge just how hard those years were.

"How did you get here then?"

"Cynthia Rose. Jesse and I fought off someone trying to mug her once. She insisted on buying us dinner to thank us and at this point we were starving so turning it down wasn't really an option. She got us talking over dinner, told her about our situation. Next day she comes and finds us again, tells us she and her flatmates have a room spare and it's ours to get ourselves sorted if we want. That's how we met Fat Amy and Benji. We had to scrounge off of them for so long. They wouldn't let us leave until they knew we had somewhere to go though. So we got jobs, saved and saved and saved until we could pay them back a bit and afford this place."

Beca sighs, looking around the familiar shelves with a refreshed sense of awe. This may not have been where she wanted to end up in life…but it is safe. Her and Jesse's refuge.

"But what about your dream? Your dream of producing music?"

"Some things aren't meant to be I guess. I bought more equipment when I had the money but it just wasn't the same anymore. Turns out my parents were right to laugh." Beca chuckles and shakes her head, hoping to shake away the lump in her throat that always appears when she gets into this stuff. Then Chloe's hand is lifting her face to look at her.

"I don't believe that for a second." Chloe says. She sounds so confident, so sure of Beca even though she's not heard a single note of Beca's work and Beca can feel those feelings she's been working so hard to repress come surging to the surface with Chloe's (undeserved) faith in her.

"I…it's fine Chloe. It's not my dream but it's not the streets either and that's good enough for me."

"Shame…I think you'd make a super hot DJ." Chloe winks at her and Beca smiles back, more genuinely this time. They laugh together and the mood happily eases into lighter material as they spend the rest of lunch joking around with each other.

Later, long after Chloe has gone, Beca's throws a blanket over a sofa dwelling, snoring Jesse (fallen asleep in front of the TV…again). There's a calling that's unfamiliar to her yet as familiar as the day she first felt it and her feet take her to a place she's avoided for many years. A part of her she swears was dead is waking up, wondering if there's something more out there for her.

Beca opens a storage cupboard she hasn't opened in a long time. The clock's ticking passes without measuring as Beca stares at the piles of dust covered music equipment she hasn't touched since she placed it there. Fingers come out to stroke the dust off of her mixing board…then halt, twitching back in on themselves. Beca sighs and closes the cupboard door.

* * *

_And I'm 18 couldn't wait to move out_

_It's been 5 years and now I'm starting to doubt..._

_Whether all my dreams are just aimless stares_

_Looking off to some place that isn't there_

_When I'm 32 will I be miserable?_

_With everything around based on principle?_

_Well I have a clue, oh, wouldn't it be nice?_

_To never be alone in this wasted life…_

_(Wasted - Cartel)_

* * *

_**Thanks to the following for reviewing and to all those who have followed/favourite:**_

_**dullLogic (haha, unintentional self-friend-zoning, I like that)**_

_**ballpointmf**_

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_**Writtenbykc**_

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_**laurenrulez1**_

_**MakesGoodChoices (Not quite, I can see how that would work though. Good guess!)**_

_**MakAttack23**_

_**Guest (You get awesome points for that…it's not the song but I like the suggestion :P)**_

_**itsmefiebs**_

_**Guest**_

_**maycontainspoilers**_

_**ChocolatMoosePi**_

_**ticctacc**_

_**Guest**_

_**Leslie23238**_

_**Guest**_

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_**WonderousPlaceForAnEcho**_

_**honeybadger1987**_

_**Dakadakara**_


	5. On The Edge Of Something

_**10 hour shift today, 14 hour shift tomorrow. What even is my life?**_

* * *

5. On The Edge Of Something

The question of music continues to tug at Beca's mind in the day that follows. Suddenly her ability to compartmentalise an area of her life and put it to rest is fraying at the edges after years of carefully refined repression. Chloe's presence does not help. Since the first twitch of her rhythmically run soul showing signs of waking up, Beca finds it is most active when around the red head. Whispers of blended chords and the smooth transition between complimentary tracks shadow Beca's thoughts with each second she spends in Chloe's company.

The friendship itself is a curiosity if only for the amount of time for which it took to happen. When Chloe said they were going to be fast friends, Beca had internally scoffed. The friends she's acquired through life were by no means gained rapidly. Her time being kicked down to the ground by a world she always believed full of opportunity had left her pretty cynical and resulted in deep, unshakeable suspicion of people. There's none of that with Chloe. Beca looks at her and _knows _the redhead would never intentionally hurt Beca. Beca's never known that about anyone before. They've had to prove it. Then there's the feelings…

The impulse to fit the feelings the waitress induces in her to music grows stronger by the minute as they talk. It's driving Beca to distraction. She amuses herself with mundane, trivial activities while at the bar but she cannot shut down that ticking, that whirring in the back of her brain that's complimenting each part of their conversation with a progression of chords. Nor can she stop the rising crescendo that always seems to come soaring through whenever Chloe's delicate hand slides over her own and gives a light squeeze.

It's stupid and it's pointless…so Beca distracts herself. "You're such an idiot." Chloe snorts at Beca who is attempting to balance a spoon on her nose. She fails for the fifth time in a row when Chloe gives her shoulder a poke, setting her off balance.

"I'm bored. Got to find some way to amuse myself." Beca grins as the spoon falls down and clatters on the bar's surface.

"Oh, so I'm boring company now am I?" Chloe replies with arched eyebrow.

"Of course, I only stick around for the free stuff, you know that." Chloe gives a mock gasp at this and carefully whisks Beca's drink away before Beca can stop her.

"That's it Miss Mitchell, I'm taking this back."

"Heyyyy, I was drinking that."

"Tough. I'll not have you using me to get free drinks if you're going to be mean." Beca scowls at Chloe but Chloe merely hums an annoyingly happy tune lightly as she runs a cloth around and around the crockery in her hands. It doesn't take long for Beca to concede. Her normally stubborn nature when it comes to these things is hopelessly defunct in the case of Chloe Beale.

"…I suppose you're kind of fun to hang around." Beca begrudgingly mumbles.

"What was that? I didn't quite hear?" Chloe's voice is filled with sunshine and sweetness but Beca can see that ruthlessly mischievous spark in her eyes as she smiles. Wow she's beautiful. No. Stop it. Focus Beca.

"You're really doing that whole routine huh?"

"Yup. You know what I want to hear." Chloe grins and leans expectantly closer to where Beca is seated on the other side of the bar.

"And it doesn't bother you that you know it's going to be entirely fake as the result of blackmail?"

"I'm okay with it." Chloe shrugs smiling.

"Ugh. Fine. You are the most entertaining, captivating person I have ever had the pleasure of meeting and I would rather sit in a bar and watch you dry dishes than go home." Beca ensures her voice drips with the necessary amount of sarcasm to pass of the incredibly true words as a light hearted joke.

"Jackass." Chloe smiles and throws her drying towel in Beca's face, giggling at the disgusted expression on the brunette's face when she realises just how soggy it is. She does replace Beca's glass though which is a plus. Beca takes a heavy swig to get rid of the taste of damp tea towel which has been lingering since her mouth unfortunately caught a corner of the damn thing when Chloe flung it.

As Chloe takes the tea towel and disappears to the back to fetch another, Beca ponders her happy mood. It's unusual. Since seeing her dreams trampled into dust, she's become somewhat cold inside. Things make her lightly happy at best. The past few years have been ones of contentment and a sense of steadiness. There's no real overflow of emotion though. She just exists. Occasionally she has moments of joy but they are rare and only as the result of a steady stream of good things happening in a row.

Right now she's literally just waiting for Chloe to finish her shift so she can ensure the red head leaves unbothered, yet she's in a curiously pleasant state of mind. Not only has nothing spectacularly outstanding happened, Chloe is late. Waiting around for someone has never been Beca's forte hitherto. As an inherently punctual person with a best friend who's time management skills require some serious work, Beca has become well practiced in the art of irritably giving someone evils if they take longer to do something then they said they would or aren't ready at a pre-agreed time.

Chloe promised she would be done half an hour ago and if she were Jesse then every molecule in Beca's body would be twitching with frustration at each second that went past and there would be no end to her evil eye….but it's Chloe. Beca doesn't mind Chloe being late because that means Beca gets more time with Chloe. Chloe makes it easier to reach into the part of her that contains emotion and makes them seem not so scary anymore. Being numb to everything around her suddenly becomes difficult because it means being numb to Chloe and that, apparently, is something Beca cannot do.

Beca's not too sure how she feels about that. Doesn't want to think about what that means. Chloe is supposed to be her friend and her friend only. Beca internally groans as an annoying little voice in the back of her head points out that befriending the one you have a serious crush on was not necessarily the best plan. It's so hard not to be drawn in though. Chloe has a light surrounding her that Beca simply won't ever get enough of. Clearly she's a glutton for punishment.

Maybe that's why, when Chloe is eventually done and they amble in the direction of Chloe's place, Beca doesn't keep her distance and stop Chloe from looping her arm through Beca's as normal. To retain her sanity, Beca tends to pull back whenever Chloe initiates overly familiar physical contact lest she do something stupid.

…It seems there is something different about tonight. Some part of Beca is more relaxed and willing to indulge her wanting side. She tells herself it's the result of the cold weather, that body heat is vital in such times and allowing Chloe to press tightly against her is for health reasons…but she knows that is a lie.

The warmth of Chloe's body in close proximity to her own may help to fight off the belligerent wind battling them every step of the way…but it also allows for a curiously pleasant thrumming in the centre of her chest and, as they walk back, Beca becomes aware that her face is actually beginning to hurt with how much she has been smiling this evening. It actually physically aches with the sheer force of joy Chloe brings out of her. She wonders if Chloe is helping her gain back the person she used to be. The one who saw life as something to actively participate in instead of something to just try and survive.

When they part to go their separate ways outside Chloe's apartment, Beca begrudgingly acquiesces to a hug. Externally she protests (of course she does) but when her arms lock around Chloe there is an undeniable rush that means she does not retreat quickly but simply squeezes a little bit tighter. Chloe's hands come up to play with the hairs at the base of Beca's neck and suddenly there is something terribly intimate about all of this.

The hug is going on too long. Chloe's fingers seem to be caressing instead of just stroking. There is a gentle breath of hot air next to her ear as Chloe's head begins to slide backwards. She doesn't separate their bodies one inch though and Beca knows if she lets this continue they will be two people embracing in the cold night air. Chloe's face will be _right there _in front of her and the heat from it will be warm on Beca's face and Beca will lose all manner of sense and kiss Chloe. It's too intense. It's too real.

So she ends the hug, pulls back and utters a brusque 'bye' before disappearing off in to the night, pretending she doesn't hear Chloe calling after her. She rushes home double time and it's only once she is in the safety of her and Jesse's living space of their bookshop that she allows herself pause. She closes the door and immediately leans back on it, exhaling deeply. That had been close. Too close. She should never have allowed herself to let Chloe push past that barrier. Even if the feeling of her being so close was wonderful…

Wrapped up in her own thoughts of Chloe, she jumps violently when Jesse looms out of the shadows, startling her.

"Beca…"

"Nyargh! Where did you come from?"

"The living room."

"Well…announce yourself next time or something."

"And miss the look on your face? Never." Jesse chuckles and Beca scowls. It seems that is the standard setting for their friendship. Normally it is followed by relentless teasing each other which is why Beca becomes suspicious at the way Jesse's face sobers.

"What is it?"

"I did something…and I'm not sure if you're going to hate me for it." Beca's eyes narrow at Jesse's guilty expression.

"What did you do?" Jesse just points through to another room. Beca follows through on the direction of his hand until she pushes the door open and see what Jesse is getting at. There, all set up and gleaming, is every bit of music equipment she put into storage. She whirls round to glare at him. "What the hell Jesse?!"

"I saw you. Last night, I woke up and went to go through to my room and I saw you standing there looking at it. I thought maybe you were thinking about…" Jesse trails off at the look on Beca's face.

"Well I wasn't. So you can put it back." She says sternly before turning away. She's not expecting Jesse to challenge her on this but he does.

"Why?" He calls out before she can distance herself. He almost recoils at the fire in her eyes when she faces him again but amazingly, if timidly, holds his ground as she speaks.

"Because it's not a part of my life anymore. I tried. I failed. It hurts to look at okay? I'm not going to make any more music."

"So I can sell it then?" That gives her pause. She's not going to use it but…but…there is something very final about selling it. That means it won't be there anymore. She...maybe she's not as ready to let go as she thought she was.

"No."

"Why not? If you're not going to use it then we can make some money off of it."

"Because…because…" Beca becomes exasperated in the wake of Jesse's logic. Jesse grows more confident as that fire in her eyes dims and Beca flounders about for a reason that isn't the one Jesse presents to her.

"Because there's still a part of you that wants to do this! And you should! Making music is what you're meant for Beca. We both know it."

"Well clearly it's not seeing as I didn't get very far." Beca mumbles agitatedly. Jesse merely shakes his head sadly at her.

"That's only because you barely had the opportunity to get anywhere. Your stuff got stolen before anyone really listened to it and when we finally got the money to replace it…it was like you didn't even want to try. You still don't. You barely used all this before you locked it up." Jesse's voice has taken on a softer, more persuading tone, one that encourages Beca to think about the joy she found in music once upon a time. Then the bitterness comes as she shuts it down.

"It was a silly dream. Nothing more."

"Bullshit." It's not an argument with supported points or a thought through retort to Beca's dismissal…but it halts her. Jesse rarely confronts her on anything, he's perfectly content to let Beca lead 99% of the time…but sometimes…sometimes he gets when Beca is standing in her own way. It's on those occasions that he doesn't back down. Beca remains silent against this one word. She wants to argue against him but really she'd just be arguing against herself and Jesse knows that, it's why he called her on it in the first place

Jesse takes her refusal to talk as a partial win. "I'm going to leave it out. It's all set up and ready to go. You don't have to use it but…it's there." Beca nods and continues to stare at the equipment with indecision. It's hypnotic, the sight of that control panel blinking at her. She never lost her love of music it just…it reminds her too much of what could have been once upon a time. Eventually she retreats to the safety of her room but not without her mind asking if it's just something that could have been…or if it's something that could still be.

* * *

_I'll say a little prayer for the child in me,_

_I swear I used to be what I truly believe,_

_That I'm not just a man with these broken dreams,_

_That even I could go to heaven,_

_If I part the seas._

_(Pour Me – Hollywood Undead)_

* * *

_**Thanks to the following for reviewing and to all those who have favourite/followed:**_

_**laurenrulez1**_

_**awriterofthings**_

_**crystalsoda1**_

_**Reda V (Cheers but that's not a worry. She'll only be about four hours away and we both live in London for the majority of the year anyways so it's not like we're about to fall out of contact. It just means I'll get used to doing road trips to Yorkshire :)**__**…we've already planned how we're going to divide Christmas between our families, is that sad?)**_

_**Ballpointmf**_

_**Guest**_

_**Llvr**_

_**Guest**_

_**Guest 16**_

_**A Lover Of Things (Yay! It's an awesome song but I don't know about telling her to stay away, I kind of like having her around…)**_

_**KittyKatt1998**_

_**Loveyouasshole**_

_**Another Sarcastic Teenager (thanks dude. Don't try and fight the addiction of the song. Just let it happen)**_

_**Shortstack13**_

_**Itsmefiebs**_

_**Gui**_

_**Guest**_

_**Huh**_


	6. Who Says Chivalry Is Dead?

Who Says Chivalry Is Dead?

"You ain't gonna make the guy disappear by glaring at him Little Bit." Cynthia Rose remarks boredly as Beca continues to scowl at a new patron in the bar. A new patron who Chloe appears to know. A new patron with who Chloe giggles and talks to with a smile while he lays his hands on her several times in positions that are more than friendly.

Chloe slides them off but doesn't shoot emergency eyes at Beca as per usual. She looks uncomfortable at times but never enough for Beca to feel it warrants her intervention. Chloe also doesn't retreat despite the advances of Mr Stupid Head (as Beca has internally named him). Maybe she likes this guy…

CR sighs as Beca somehow manages to angrily eat her crisps. So much for a catch up session with her two favourite brunettes. Between Jesse gleefully refusing to move after hitting a winning streak on one of the fruit machines and Beca's inability to look at anything other than Chloe, CR is not getting the conversation she's been expecting. Beca in particular is worrying her.

Since she'd clocked the newcomer and Chloe avidly talking at his table, Beca's responses to CR's attempts at conversation consisted of one word answers and there had been no drawing her steely gaze from the back of this guy's head. CR was honestly amazed that Chloe/Chloe's gentlemen friend hadn't spotted Beca yet, Little Bit seriously had yet to master the art of subtlety.

A long silence occurs while CR waits to see if Beca will even notice the lull in her attempts to engage the shorter girl. She does not. CR sighs. "Right, as great as chilling with you guys has been, I got some stuff to do, so I'm gonna head off."

"What? Why? I thought we were going to catch up?" Beca finally shifts her attention to her friend in confusion at her announcement.

"We were but I think Jesse will cry if we drag him away from that thing and your mind's clearly somewhere else right now". Guilt flashes across Beca's face as CR looks pointedly over to where Beca's gaze has been focused for so long.

"I'm sorry CR. We're being shit company."

"Yeah, you are." CR nods, then smiles to let a sheepish looking Beca know she doesn't mind. "It's okay Little Bit. I do actually have stuff to do though so I am gonna head out and we can hang another time. Try not to get too wound up about this, okay?" Beca nods and stands to give her a hug goodbye before resuming her position as observer.

She feels bad about ignoring Cynthia Rose but the sight in front of her is difficult to get her mind off. Chloe finally leaves the dark haired guy to his food but not without a smile and a wave. Beca is aware she has no sort of claim on Chloe at all but she cannot stop her hand from tightening around her glass at the gesture.

She listens to CR's advice and calms herself. Chloe is a single woman, she can talk to whomever she wants. Beca has absolutely no right to be jealous. There is a quiet bubbling of happiness in her stomach when Chloe declines the offer called out after her to sit down at Mr Stupid Head's table and makes her way over to where Beca is seated.

"Ugh, that was exhausting." Chloe's voice sounds exasperated as she sits. That's…not what Beca was expecting.

"Exhausting?"

"Mhmmm." Beca is confused by the weary way Chloe runs a hand across her face. Normally Chloe has no hesitation in calling Beca over if someone's causing her grief.

"I don't understand, if he was bugging you then why didn't you give me the signal?"

"Tom's my ex." Chloe begins to explain. Huh. Tom. Beca prefers Mr Stupid Head. It suits him better. "I try to stay civil with him because our parents are really good friends so I always see him at family gatherings and the such like. It's easier to say we're friends than try to avoid each other."

Tom (Mr Stupid Head) twists in his chair to wave to Chloe. Chloe smiles and waves back but this time Beca notices it's a little too tense around the jaw to be Chloe's real smile. The guys at Tom's (Mr Stupid Head's) table begin slapping his back and Beca can see a few high fives from the drooling idiots. Beca's eyes narrow. She can guess what the conversation there consists of.

"Doesn't look like he wants to just be your friend." Beca had meant for that to be too quiet to pick up but Chloe chooses today of all days to have bat like hearing. Fortunately, it seems Chloe is not upset by the slightly dark edge to Beca's voice.

"I know, it's ridiculous!" Chloe exclaims, it seems this is something that's been bothering her for a while. "He was the one to break up with me so he's got it into his head that I'm still pining over him, as if I wasn't about to break up with him myself, and that that means he has automatic booty call rights or something crazy like that."

Chloe groans at the situation. When she continues, it's in a defeated tone that Beca doesn't much like hearing from the redhead. Chloe is perky. That's her thing. "It's annoying how touchy he can be but...I don't know. I just remember how petty he can get and outright rejecting him would mean snide comments every time I see him, whether our parents are there or not. It'd be so much hassle to stop every family occasion turning into a screaming match…it's simpler this way I reckon."

"Then he's a douche and I don't like him." Chloe laughs at the scowl on Beca's face. She does that thing where she gives Beca's hand a tender squeeze again and Beca's heart skips a beat. With all the times Chloe's been making that happen recently, Beca's beginning to worry she's developing some sort of heart condition.

"You're sweet to say so…do you ever look at someone and wonder how on earth you ever dated them? I look at Tom now and…what was I thinking? He could be sweet when it was just us but the second anyone else was around, he had to show off and be the man, you know? In the end I think it was just because our parents were such good friends and we'd grown up around each other so it seemed like the logical thing to do. Hah, as is if we would have ever actually worked. He doesn't even like any type of music unless it's been auto tuned until you can't tell if it's a robot or a human singing! I need someone with a more eclectic taste than that. Someone who appreciates all the different ways music can make you feel." Chloe muses.

Beca remains silent as Chloe looks at her. She thinks back to a conversation they had recently on this exact topic and Beca debates hintingly bring it up…but she backs out, as usual. Chloe is still looking at her with those big beautiful eyes and it's more than Beca can take. She wonders if Chloe is waiting for her to say something but whatever Chloe wants from her passes as Luke calls the waitress back to her position at the bar. Chloe sighs as she leaves and Beca's got the bizarre feeling she's done something wrong.

Chloe seems oddly put out, which Beca doesn't like. Despite all previous friendships falling to bits where any sign of having to figure out what the other party is feeling or deciphering emotions that Beca can't even define for herself is involved, Beca wants to follow Chloe and make sure everything is okay between them. That's the thing about Chloe, Beca's investment in her happiness means Beca is willing to go the extra mile that she's never gone before.

So she stands. She stands and makes her way to the kitchen where Chloe has disappeared to. She very nearly makes it there too…but then she catches a snippet of conversation on the way past.

"…pretty easy to get into her pants. Just gotta know the right thing to say." That…that's Tom (Mr Stupid Head)…he better not be talking who Beca thinks he's talking about.

"Dude, teach me. I'd kill to tap that." One of his surrounding idiots pleads. Beca can feel her hackles rising.

"Maybe after I've hit it again, Chloe's a pretty good ride. Think I'll take her for one last spin." Their words grow louder as Beca's legs take her away from their intended path towards the kitchen and instead deliver her to Tom's (Mr Stupid Head's) table.

"You're the man Tom!"

"Yea-" Beca cuts him off with a sharp tap to the shoulder.

"Hey asshat."

"Can I help you?" Tom frowns at the intrusion. Beca glares down at him in his seat.

"Yeah, you can stop talking about Chloe like that."

"This is a private conversation. Go bother someone else." He makes a shooing motion and turns back to his buddies. Beca prods him again.

"You are talking loud enough for half the bar to hear you and you're being really fucking rude about someone I happen to care about." Tom turns to look at her now, eyes narrowing in suspicion at her words. Then his face morphs into a sadistic grin.

"Oh I see, this is jealously isn't it? Well Chloe isn't ever going to look your way and you better get used to that real soon because I'm planning to have her in my bed by the end of the night." He is still grinning and Beca…Beca needs to _do _something. Something to get this guy to understand he's out of line.

"That's it. Outside. Now." Tom snorts at this suggestion.

"…what? Seriously?"

"Yeah, you heard me jackass, let's take this outside." Beca has absolutely no clue what she's doing. This feels like scene from a bad rom com but anger is taking over and shutting down the part of her brain where logic comes from. It flickers back into life briefly as Tom stands up and Beca realises that, wow, okay, Tom is pretty damn tall and certainly not lacking in the muscle department. Perhaps she has been a little rash.

"Alright then, let's do this. Don't think I'm going to go easy on you just because you're a girl." Jesse must see them squaring off because he is by her side in an instant with calming words, urging her to leave it alone. Out the corner of her eye, she sees Chloe and Luke apprehensively standing at the bar, watching the scene in front of them. It takes some doing on Jesse's part with Tom arrogantly smirking at her the way he is, but he eventually manages to talk sense into Beca. He coaxes her away, steering them back to their table. Then Tom laughs.

"Don't know why you bothered, not like she's anything special!" Beca freezes. A red wave comes roaring through her ears. Beca is typically the kind of person who will avoid a fight at any cost. She'll fight if she has to but intentionally starting one is not something she's ever done before. There's a first time for everything though and hers is now. She's fully aware of the fact that Tom's saying these things to taunt, to get a reaction but she's going to rise to the bait because someone really needs to get rid of that stupid smug smirk on Tom's face.

Beca can't see beyond the hazy fog of fury that is turning her around and pushing her back in Tom's direction once more. The git is still laughing as she approaches, completely amused by her rage. His laughter ends abruptly and there's an extremely satisfying 'crunch' noise as Beca's fist sinks into his face. Something solid in his face crumple inwards and a warm spray spatters onto Beca's hand. The noises of the pub have faded into the background with her rage but a faint 'oh my god' from Chloe can still be heard.

Beca feels a flicker of pride as Tom is sent straight to the floor with the force she put into her punch. Apparently she packs a decent left hook. There's a pain in her hand that hurts like absolute fuck but the visual of Tom down and screaming 'bitch!' at her like a stroppy child seems like a fair exchange. She begins towards him again, ready to make him regret the slew of detestable words that are now pouring out of his mouth but Jesse's arms wrap around her waist and lift until she is a mess of limbs flailing angrily in Tom's direction.

"Beca! Calm down!" Jesse yells while Beca flails.

"No!" Jesse gets that Beca is in no way going to get a clear head being in the same room as this guy so he forcibly transports her out of the main exit. She turns around to storm her way straight back to the douche but is met with Chloe instead of Jesse who has clearly followed them out. Jesse she can quite happily push past, Chloe's eyes begging her to stay she cannot.

"Beca, please stay out here until you've calmed down a bit." Chloe pleads softly. Beca glares and begins angrily pacing back and forth in front of the entrance, needing something to do with all the adrenaline scorching through her veins right now. Chloe sends Jesse back inside with assurances that she's got this before turning to look worriedly at Beca. "Becs, it's okay…"

"No Chloe! It is NOT okay! He shouldn't EVER have the right to speak about you like that! You are worth so much more than his dirty words and it's wrong because he should know better! The people in the bar, they hit on you and it sucks because all they see is how goddamn attractive you are! Yeah, you are so hot it sometimes makes me actually physically drool at the sight of you, but you have _way_ more to you than that. They never get too see how awesome your personality is because they think the beauty is the only thing there. He should fucking know better! He DATED you! He's seen how amazing you are as a person and he's still acting like your physical appearance is the best thing about you! But it's not! You are this fantastic little ball of sunshine who's kind to everyone and everything on this planet! You fight for what you care about and you never let the people around you ever forget just how important they are to you! You're funny, smart, giving, absolutely terrible at card games and the only person who can make me feel better after a shitty day! I swear to god you are the very definition of perfection and-"

Beca becomes aware that there is something very 'not just friends' about the way she's speaking right now but she cannot stop. The positive aspects of Chloe come flowing out of her mouth like a river breaking forth from a dam, she's quite convinced she could continue to list things all night but suddenly she's stops. She stops because there's the taste of fruity lip gloss in her mouth and lips determinedly parting her own to slide a tongue in. She feels the thump of her back colliding with the cool brick wall of the pub behind her and a warm body pressing against the length of her own.

It takes a few seconds for the necessary neurons to do their job and piece together the facts. Once Beca figures out exactly what is happening, she responds in kind most enthusiastically. Something curls deep in her stomach as Chloe presses even deeper into her, hips giving a little twitch in just the right place to make Beca moan. That moan must do something to Chloe because hands make their way over Beca's body with a new urgency that has Beca panting. Beca allows her own hands to do some exploring and ow ow ow, fuckity fuck fuck, her hand really fucking hurts. It, at the very least, needs some ice on it or something but Beca is way too caught up in the things Chloe is doing to her to get her to stop.

She almost forgets about the pain for a second as Chloe's hands lay a trail up her body to eagerly cup her breasts. She definitely forgets about it when Chloe places a quick pattern of kisses along her jaw, down her neck and _sucks _harshly when she reaches the pulse point. Her hands give a firm squeeze at exactly the same time which forces Beca to make a noise she's never heard herself make before. It's a good noise though. A very good noise.

Beca could stay in this moment forever. The heat rising from their bodies is more than enough to combat the harsh sting of the cold air. She's left her coat indoors and she should be freezing right now but, on the contrary, Beca absolutely feels like she is on fire. Sensation is all she can be aware of with Chloe touching her in all the right places, Beca doesn't ever want it to end. Of course, all things must have an end and the end to this particular moment comes in the form of a pissed off British accent.

"Oi! When I said no sex on the tables I didn't mean go do it against the front of the sodding pub instead!" They stop abruptly and two sets of eyes blink dazedly at the interruption. Chloe apologises sheepishly to Luke who is standing there with a disapproval written all over his face. It takes a pointed look from both Luke and Beca for Chloe to realise she is still quite happily groping Beca's boobs. She lets out a quiet 'oh…right…' and (Beca thinks there's something almost reluctant in her expression) drops her hands.

Luke shakes his head at the pair. "Honestly, I come out here to check you're okay and you're desecrating my bloody walls. Don't do it again!" Both parties nod at the irate Englishman and Luke's face relaxes. "Good thing you finally told her though Red, thought I was going to have to stage an intervention." Luke winks at them and disappears back inside where the faint sound of Tom screaming something about suing can be heard.

Beca pushes herself off the wall to look at Chloe who is standing there, looking at Beca and biting her lip. It is a highly enthralling sight and Beca has to clear her throat a couple of times before words actually appear.

"Um…what did Luke mean by 'you told her' exactly?" Chloe sighs deeply.

"Okay, here's the thing…I kind of have this major thing for you and have for a while and I'm hoping after…after what just happened that you might have a thing for me too?" She questions nervously, eyes monitoring Beca's face carefully for any hint of a reaction.

"Seriously?" Beca's grin takes over her face once she has assessed that this isn't some horribly cruel joke on Chloe's behalf. Disbelief colours her tone and Chloe raises an eyebrow at Beca's incredulity.

"Well…yeah." Chloe says like it should have been obvious. "I've been pretty much throwing myself at you and dropping as many hints as I can since I found out you and Jesse weren't an item…I thought you weren't interested because you kept shrugging me off or moving away any time I tried to touch you."

"Oh…I thought that was you being friendly."

"I'm hoping you're not interpreting what we just did as friendship."

"Well I think I got that much." Beca smirks happily. Her expression morphs into one of guilt when a thought occurs to her though. "I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"Well…all that stuff you said about it being easier to deal with Tom without him being pissed at you. I don't think he's going to want to play nice anymore." Chloe laughs at Beca's apologetic countenance.

"Oh I don't care. I really don't care. He's going to be pissy every time I see him now but it was _so _worth it." Chloe has been inching her way forward as she speaks until she is in Beca's personal bubble again (not that Beca really minds). The '_so _worth it' is breathed against her lips and Beca's heart stops momentarily in anticipation of what Chloe has in mind...but as Chloe closes the gap, her hand slides down to grip Beca's own and does that affectionate squeeze thing she is so fond of doing.

Beca can't even yelp in pain. Only a sharp hiss escapes her at the sudden intense stabbing sensation Chloe's touch has resulted in. Her hand suddenly feels extremely warm and she's not sure if that pulsing sensation is actually just her pulse, or her hand throbbing in pain. The weird little bright spots of light dancing in front of her eyes do not help at all. Chloe, of course, does not miss this reaction and looks down to examine the cause.

"Oh my god! Beca!" Now Beca doesn't know much about human anatomy, biology was never her favourite subject in school, but she's reasonably sure her fingers aren't supposed to be that shape. The swelling isn't normal either and, despite having spent her entire life thus far as an extremely pale person of being, she now appears to have a nice purple shade to her skin in the surrounding area. Although aware of it hurting, Beca didn't think it was this bad. Maybe it's the adrenaline numbing her. Regardless, Chloe is instantly dragging Beca towards the car and rambling something about hospital.

Beca doesn't really like hospitals and tries to avoid them whenever she can but she's on cloud nine right now. she positively delirious with emotion. Chloe could suggest a marathon of all the Twilight films and Beca wouldn't complain. So she allows herself to be gently pushed towards Chloe's car and patiently waits until Chloe has reappeared from the bar with her keys.

…it may also be because her hand looks like the way Picasso would have drawn a hand and it's starting to throb pretty damn bad now and things are getting a little spinny as her body starts letting things catch up to it and…okay, Chloe may have a point about hospital.

* * *

_Oh my heart is burning like a fire,_  
_Closer now and she is breathing desire,_  
_Take my hand and give it all your light,_  
_Take command I am your rhythm tonight;_

_Well here we go again,_  
_Living in a world that others cannot share,_  
_Yea here we go again,_  
_We are moving from a spark to a flame_

_(High On Emotion - Chris DeBurgh)_

* * *

_**Thanks to the following for reviewing and to all those who have favourite/followed:**_

_**SMILE. Bee. Happpy**_

_**Guest**_

_**A Lover Of Things**_

_**WonderousPlaceForAnEcho (oh wow, that is perfect for what I was trying to convey, I like that)**_

_**Reda V**_

_**ballpointmf**_

_**Shortstack13**_

_**Jada. T**_

_**itsmefiebs**_

_**Guest**_

_**TheExperienceofLife**_


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